The Arts Council has today published Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone – a framework for future cooperation. This publication sets out how we will place museums and libraries at the heart of our work and our vision for the future; it is a companion piece to our 10-year strategic framework for the arts Achieving great art for everyone.
Download the publication here and find out how to feed in your views.
From October 1 2011 the Arts Council will assume some responsibilities currently held by the Museums and Libraries Archives Council (MLA) following its closure. Though this change was born out of necessity, we are inspired by the opportunity it presents for the arts, museums and libraries, and their audiences and users.
The new framework revisits our strategic goals, making sure they are appropriate for our expanded role.
Our plans
We recognise that arts organisations, museums and libraries are distinct from each other and offer a wealth of different experiences. We should celebrate this, not be afraid of it. Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone articulates how we plan to champion, develop and invest in museums and libraries, and how they in turn can contribute to our strategic goals – offering exciting and imaginative experiences to as many people as possible and developing a strong and sustainable cultural sector.
The new framework also sets out how we will work with museums and libraries over the next three years (funding period 2012-15) and provides a structure for our forthcoming funding decisions – including the revised Renaissance in the Regions major grants programme which is open for application from 13 September 2011.
We will hold an informal consultation on the longer term focus beyond 2015, this autumn to make sure that we hear a wide range of views on the long-term ambitions of all the cultural areas that we now represent.
Download the publication here and find out how to feed in your views.
A review of research and literature on museums and libraries
In preparation for our new responsibilities and to help us understand the museum and library landscape, we have also undertaken a range of activities to understand the needs and priorities of the sectors and published A review of research and literature on museums and libraries.
Download A review of research and literature on museums and libraries.